Not to be taken for granted, of course – end-to-end digitalisation in public authorities

The digitalisation of public administration is a complex undertaking spanning decades and involving a wide range of technical and organisational challenges. End-to-end digitalisation aims to make all administrative processes – from the submission of an application to the delivery of the decision – digital and seamless. This includes the integration of IT systems, the digitisation of files (e-files) and the improvement of interfaces between different administrative departments.

Modern technologies and well-planned IT integration

End-to-end digitalisation simplifies administrative work, increases transparency and efficiency, and supports compliance with legal requirements. It utilises modern technologies such as cloud services, artificial intelligence and low-code platforms to implement digital processes quickly and flexibly.

Standalone IT systems that perform specific administrative tasks play an important role in this. However, seamless integration of these systems is necessary to avoid media breaks and ensure end-to-end process chains. Legal frameworks such as the Online Access Act (OZG) and the Register Modernisation Act (RegMoG) form the basis for these digitalisation initiatives.

Integration platforms such as ServiceNow or PEGA are of central importance for practical implementation. These platforms enable the interconnection of different IT systems and processes and offer users a uniform user interface, which significantly simplifies administrative work. Furthermore, they support the automation of workflows and interaction with users through AI-based assistants that help with the creation and processing of applications.

The key to successful end-to-end (E2E) digitalisation

In practice, however, end-to-end digitalisation presents challenges, such as the need for careful planning, dealing with outdated systems (legacy systems) and continuously adapting to new requirements and technological developments. To ensure successful implementation, close collaboration between IT experts and specialist departments is crucial. This enables technical solutions to be optimally tailored to the needs of the public administration and citizens.

A comprehensive digital transformation of public administration is only possible through a consistent end-to-end approach, whereby both the technical possibilities and users’ everyday digital experiences must be taken into account in order to successfully shape the digital transformation.

Opportunities and innovations for the digital transformation of public administration are also key themes of the 25th ÖV Symposium. The largest digitalisation congress in North Rhine-Westphalia will take place in September at the Congress Centre Düsseldorf under the motto ‘DIGITAL.VORAN – Shaping public administration with confidence’.

For 25 years, Materna and Infora have been organising the ÖV Symposium NRW in close cooperation with the state government and the municipal umbrella organisations in North Rhine-Westphalia. The ÖV Symposium NRW has established itself as a fixture and as a platform for information and dialogue on local and state-specific digitalisation issues in the modernisation of public administration.

Read more in the white paper “End-to-End Digitalisation in Public Administration”: WPW-E2E.pdf (materna.de)